Her Bodyguard

Chapter Nine

"Do you want something to drink? Water? Coffee? A milkshake? Anything?"

"No, Calida. I'll let you know if I do."

"Are you cold? You're shivering."

"I promise, I'm fine."

"Come here, get under the jacket. Your dad might send a sniper after me if you get sick."

Izar chuckled. That was not entirely impossible, but the only reason why her father would do that is if Calida did not do a good job of protecting her.

"Warm now?" Calida asked.

"Yeah, much better," Izar said. She knew why Calida could not just take off the jacket.

They had spent two hours at the hospital. There was still no word on Alyssa. But Izar was willing to wait. Calida wanted to know if Alyssa would survive this, she needed to know.

The detective came back half an hour later, another man tailing him. The second man was a bit short, unlike his partner, he looked simple. The type you could easily note in a crowd. Calida recognized his voice as they inched closer to them.

"Good evening, I'm detective Reinhart. I'm aware you've met my partner," the man said, offering his hand to Calida.

She took it, "I'm Calida Arell and this is my friend Izar Sterling."

Immediately, the detective snapped his head toward Izar. She shrunk under his gaze. Calida frowned.

"Can we help you with anything?" Calida asked.

The detective turned his attention to Calida once more. She offered him a tight-lipped smile.

"We just wanted to ask some questions and that's it," the detective replied.

Calida shrugged, "that's alright. But we'd also like to know what happened to Alyssa. We know nothing about all of this. Izar was shocked when we got the call."

Calida was very convincing. Her face had contorted into that of a depressed and confused person.

"Well, we got a call today about Alyssa. When we got to her house, the apartment had been trashed and she was lying in a pool of her blood. Whoever had shot her, missed her heart by an inch. The doctors are very certain she will live," detective Reinhart said.

"Do you know anything about any of this? Any idea who could have done this to her?" Detective John asked.

"I'm sorry, detectives. We're just devastated to hear the news about Alyssa. Everything has happened so fast. This makes me believe Alyssa might have gotten into some sort of trouble," Calida stated.

The detectives looked at each other, "so you know nothing about Alyssa's activities?" John asked.

Izar spoke up, "the last time we saw or spoke to Alyssa was days ago. It felt like she cut us off entirely. So to be honest, we know nothing about what she had been up to."

"I hope she survives this," Calida added.

Izar had not been lying about not knowing what Alyssa had been getting up to. The girl usually got in trouble a lot, but this time, it looked like she got way more than she asked for.

After the detectives left, Calida let Izar sob into her shirt. The urge to pull her into her lap and comfort her was too strong. Instead, she let her cry to her heart's content.

It was 9 PM when they decided it was time to leave the hospital without seeing Alyssa. The police had left someone there for her safety. Bit Izar didn't seem satisfied with that. The moment they stepped into the cold, Izar shivered.

"Cold?" Calida asked.

Izar nodded, rubbing her hands together. Calida took her jacket off and placed it on her. The warmth seeped into her so much that she wrapped the jacket around herself. The scent of Calida's jacket reminded her of wildflowers and she wondered if Calida smelled that way.

Calida opened the passenger side after unlocking the car with the remote. Izar drove a BMW. Calida had a different taste in cars. She held the door open and helped Izar climb in, before walking around to the driver's side and getting in.

She threw on a badge that Izar hadn't seen initially. Her gun was visible now. Izar didn't know what type it was since she didn't mess with guns.

"We'll get take out and then go home, okay?" She told Izar.

During the ride, Izar kept staring at Calida. She didn't take her eyes off her. It was like she could see a different Calida from the one she had met at her father's penthouse. Izar's heart fluttered.

She didn't want a bodyguard, had never wanted one, but she had one now. One who cared how she felt. When Calida had locked her inside her room while she stripped, Izar had nearly lost it. Asides from having the body of a sex god, Calida had tattoos. She had a sleeve tattoo that went all the way from her wrist to her shoulder and neck. Izar was curious, she wanted to ask about the tattoos, but she felt like she would be crossing a line.

"Do you like Chinese?" Calida asked, not taking her eyes off the road.

Calida drove with one hand. You could see how strong her hands were with the way she held the steering.

Those hands would hold me perfectly –what the hell? She's my bodyguard! Izar thought. She swallowed hard.

"Yeah, I like Chinese."

"Let's get some."

After they got the food, Calida drove straight to the house. She parked the car, got out, and opened the door for Izar. She got the food from the back seat as well. Calida led the way to the door. She noticed something lying in front of the door.

"Hold these for me," Calida handed the bags to a confused Izar. "Move back a bit too."

Izar moved back. Calida bent down and picked up the envelope. She gave it a shake, but she heard nothing. She folded the envelope and shoved it in her back pocket. Quietly, she opened the door. She scanned the sitting room first. The security system was still on and everything looked where it should be. When she felt it was certainly safe, she held the door open for Izar to walk inside.

Izar placed the take-out on the dining table before heading to her room. Calida changed into the grey sweatpants and sweatshirt she had been wearing before. They had a quiet dinner minutes later.

After dinner, Calida took the trash out while Izar watched TV. The only time Calida decided to work was when she was sure Izar was fast asleep on the couch. She brought her laptop out and decided to see for herself, what was on the flash drive.